Thursday, April 9, 2020

Deluxe Smashburgers

In contrast to the thick, juicy burgers we've all come to crave, Smashburger brought us the thin, crispy version and I'm all in. Bonus points for the fact that they're quick and easy to make at home.

The restaurant version is a simple affair with sliced raw onions and a plain soft bun. But that's a little too simple for me because there's so much more flavor to be had. Granted the caramelized onions take a while to make but they're so worth it.

I would normally get even fancier with the bun, opting for something seeded. But the store selection is a little poor these days so I went with a basic roll and gave it a good toasting. Slather generously with sauce, pile on the caramelized onions and a big stack of pickles for me, please. Enjoy!

Instructions:

How to cook Deluxe Smashburgers

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large cast iron pan and add the sliced onion. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes until the onions are caramelized. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and continue cooking for another minute or two. Remove the onions to a separate dish.

Increase the heat to high and, working in batches, add 2 oz. balls of ground beef to the hot pan. Smash each ball down with a large offset spatula. Note that if you cannot get the patties thin enough with the spatula, try pressing down with a potato masher or the back of a smaller cast iron pan. You want them as thin as possible. Season with salt and pepper.

After a couple of minutes, flip the patties, season the second sides with salt and pepper and top each with a slice of cheese. To get the cheese to melt quickly, cover the burgers with a pot lid for a minute. The burgers only need to cook on the second side as long as it takes to melt the cheese.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and BBQ sauce and spread it on both the tops and bottoms of the toasted rolls or buns. Add lettuce to the bottom of each roll, top with two patties of the crispy cooked beef followed by caramelized onions and sliced pickles.